The present invention generally relates to gaming machines. More particularly, the invention relates to a system, method, and apparatus by which a souvenir that memorializes that which a player was able to accomplish from using a gaming machine can be easily and efficiently produced.
A variety of machines are known that allow individuals to play a game for money and that, depending on the result, may provide the player with a valuable return, such as money. These gaming machines include those known as slot machines, in which a player enters a wager, such as putting money into the machine or have an account debited in order to play each game, and that shows the result of the game after its conclusion, as on a display or other visualization. Depending on the type of machine, the displays may inform the player of the result of the game through images shown on a video monitor, such as xe2x80x9cvideo slot reels,xe2x80x9d or through a combination produced as a result of the mechanical operation of spinning reels, or other mechanical devices.
Players who play gaming machines largely do so with the hope of receiving something of value, and in particular winning what is perceived to be a big prize whether it be money, a prize such as a car, and so on. Players refer to winning a big prize as xe2x80x9chitting the jackpot.xe2x80x9d Because of the relative infrequency at which the event occurs, hitting a jackpot often produces a major positive memory for a gaming machine player. The event also is an occasion that the operator, or the manufacturer of the gaming equipment, or others, may wish to publicize and/or use for promotional purposes. When the jackpot is large (such as over $10,000 in value), the establishment or equipment manufacturer may wish to take additional steps to memorialize the event, such as by taking a photo of the player standing alongside the machine that produced the winning game while being handed an oversized check showing the amount won.
Gaming machines also typically permit players to win smaller jackpots with greater frequency than the larger jackpots, such as what is known as a xe2x80x9c4000 coin Royal Flushxe2x80x9d on a video poker machine or the top award on a slot machine that is not connected to a progressive network. Because of the relative infrequency at which they occur, even hitting a smaller jackpot may produce a major positive memory for a gaming machine player. While the winning of a smaller jackpot may not draw the same attention of the operator (or others) that the winning of a larger jackpot does, either event may be perceived as once in a lifetime events for the player. Players may wish to have some record that memorializes such an event. The operator or the manufacturer of the machine on which the game was won, or other interested parties, may wish to permit the production of such a record that memorializes the event, termed a xe2x80x9csouvenirxe2x80x9d for purposes of this application, even for the winning of the smaller jackpots.
The gaming machine industry is highly competitive and there is a continuing need for gaming machines with enhancements that may attract players by enhancing the entertainment value and excitement associated with the game. It would therefore be desirable to have a way to provide a souvenir that memorializes the occurrence of a significant event, such as the winning of a jackpot on a gaming machine. The present invention satisfies this demand.
The present invention is directed to a system, method, and apparatus by which a souvenir is produced of what a player was able to accomplish as the result of playing a gaming machine, such as the player""s winnings on the machine.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention permits the substance of the souvenir to be selected, the form or forms in which the souvenir is provided to be selected, and the manner in which the souvenir is distributed to be selected. With respect to this preferred embodiment, and in particular the substance of the souvenir to be selected, the program permits the system to be configured such that the operator of the machine can pre-select the event for which the player can receive a souvenir. The event may be defined, for example, in terms of the player""s accomplishmentsxe2x80x94such as the size of the jackpot won by the playerxe2x80x94and in terms that may be important to the operatorxe2x80x94such as the number of games played on the certain machine (for example, the millionth game played on a certain machine), or the number of players that have visited and played a game at the establishment (the millionth game played on the establishment""s machines), just to name a few such memorable events. The event may also be defined as a xe2x80x9cresultxe2x80x9d type, such as xe2x80x9cRoyal Flushxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cFour Deucesxe2x80x9d on a video poker machine. For purposes of this application, the term xe2x80x9coperatorxe2x80x9d is meant to refer to that individual or entity that has the right to control the settings of the gaming machine and may be, for example, the one who collects the revenue from or has an interest in the operation of the machine, such as the establishment where the machine is located, e.g., a casino. The term xe2x80x9ceventxe2x80x9d is meant to include an occurrence that the operator may wish to recognize and/or the player may wish to memorialize, such as the winning of a jackpot; and the term xe2x80x9cjackpotxe2x80x9d is meant to include anything of value that may be won through the playing of a game on a gaming machine.
Certain embodiments of the invention permit the operator to pre-select the history of the event to be recorded upon the happening of an event threshold. With respect to the production of this historical record of the event, the operator may choose to record, for example, the size of the jackpot, the machine on which the jackpot had been won, the location of the machine, the size of the jackpot, the date and time on which the jackpot had been won, but, as a minimum, preferably includes a reproduction or recreation of the gaming machine display by which the player was informed that he or she had won.
A preferred embodiment permits the operator to select the substance of the historical record as well as whether all or a subset of the historical record is made available for purposes of producing the souvenir. Whether the operator permits the entire or just a subset of the historical record to be accessed for purposes of producing the souvenir, this operator-selected record is termed the xe2x80x9cpublishable recordxe2x80x9d, and includes the reproduction or recreation of the winning display, but possibly additional elements from the historical record such as, but not limited to, the name of the establishment where the machine was located and the manufacturer of the gaming machine. Information from the historical record that the operator may wish to withhold for purposes of publication may include, for instance, information that is necessary for accounting or tax purposes.
Additionally, embodiments can be configurable such that the operator may add to or permit the player to add to the publishable record to produce a xe2x80x9crefinedxe2x80x9d publishable record. To illustrate, while the operator may have chosen that the publishable record includes only the reproduction or recreation of the game winning display, the operator may wish to allow the player to add information to further personalize and increase the memorial value of the souvenir. Such personalization information may include, but is not limited to, the name of the person as entered by the player, or imagery such as a photograph of the player showing the player""s reaction after being informed that he or she had just won, or stock imagery elements such as a printed frame surrounding the game winning display reproduction/recreation, or a picture of the establishment where the game was won. The photograph of the player may be obtained through the use of a camera forming a part of the system that is synchronized to take a photograph of the player, such as when the player is standing in front of the machine. Similarly, the player may opt to remove elements from the operator""s specified publishable record, to suit the player""s taste.
Once the event occurs, the gaming machine could be set by the operator to generate the souvenir only if other action is taken by the player or operator, or alternatively automatically upon occurrence of the event. Regarding the former, one embodiment of the software permits the souvenir to be generated upon the entry of a command by an employee of the operator. For example, since gaming machine jackpots are often paid to the player as a xe2x80x9chand payxe2x80x9d, that is, an employee of the gaming machine operator verifies the win and pays the player in cash instead of through the dispensing of coins by the machine, the attendant required for the hand pay can easily enter in the system the souvenir generation command thereby causing the system to produce the winner souvenir. Regarding the latter, as an alternative, a player who has caused a souvenir dispensing event is notified that the player may choose to produce a souvenir. The notice may be provided visually, such as on the machine or elsewhere and/or as an aural cue to the player, inquiring whether the player wishes to obtain a souvenir such as the printout and inform the player what, if any, choice the player has with respect to the information to be included on the souvenir. Choices for information on the souvenir may be limited to that which is in the publishable record or the refined publishable record as described above.
Embodiments of the invention are further configurable such that the form or forms in which the souvenir is provided is selectable. In one such preferred embodiment, the operator may select the form or forms in which the souvenir is produced. In addition or alternatively, the software may be configurable such that the operator permits the player to select from a group of forms in which the publishable record is provided. For example, with respect to those embodiments of the system of this invention that include a printer component, the operator may configure the software such that a printer prints out the souvenir. Depending upon the substance of the publishable record or refined publishable record, in a gaming machine having a video monitor to display the gaming results, the souvenir may be an exact replica of the screen showing the award and possibly other information, such as the payout and the identity of the establishment where the game was won. Preferably, the printer component of the system is a color printer such as an ink jet, dye sublimation, or other photo-grade printer. However, certain embodiments may use a lower resolution color or black and white printer such as a dot-matrix or thermal printer. Because embodiments that include lower resolution color or black and white printer components may not be able to produce a suitable reproduction of the video monitor display of the winning result (as well as embodiments that don""t use a video display but, for example, mechanical spinning reels), the souvenir printout will be a recreation that is representative of the winning display instead of exactly reproducing or matching the display that the player observed. Certain gaming machines already contain printers for other functions, such as printing out vouchers as an alternative to dispensing coins; configuring the machine printer so that the publishable record or refined publishable record is printed out on the same printer to produce the souvenir will result in cost efficiencies. Such printers may be generally adjacent to the location of the gaming machine (or in the machine itself) to facilitate quick access thereto, or may be situated in a remote location. With respect to the latter embodiment of the printer, the software may be configurable such that the publishable record or refined publishable record along with the print order is transmitted to the printer for the production of the souvenir. In the physical souvenir embodiments, the souvenir is not limited to a paper printout, but may be in any tangible form (such as engraved into metal, etched on glass, etc.).
A preferred embodiment permits the manner in which the souvenir is distributed to be selected. With respect to those embodiments that include printer components, depending upon the location of the printer, the print version of the souvenir may be provided to the player generally immediately after the event or some time later. For example, in those embodiments of the system that include a printer positioned generally adjacent to the location of the gaming machine on which the winning event was recorded, the print version of the souvenir may be handed to the player by the employee that ordered its production, or in those embodiments providing such a feature, may be picked up by the player. In those embodiments that include a souvenir generation printer situated in a remote location, the player may be given the souvenir at some later time or through a delivery service such as the mail. Requiring the player to pick up the souvenir from the operator is advantageous since the operator may wish to take a photograph and/or use the name of the player for subsequent promotional purposes, and at that time may request the player to sign a release for such purposes. With respect to those embodiments of the system of this invention that include a gaming machine that is connected to the internet and/or to an intranet, an operator may choose to provide the souvenir in digital form through such a distribution system to the player as any email may be sent. The player may then access the record through the player""s computer or another""s computer for the player and, if the player so chooses, print out the record. The distribution of the digital form of the publishable or refined record through these embodiments is facilitated by the online system that operators employ to connect all or most of their gaming devices. Such online systems typically form a local area network in a casino by which each gaming machine is connected to various servers and access stations that are used to monitor the machines and administer xe2x80x9cSlot Clubsxe2x80x9d that track the player""s play and offer awards in a manner similar to xe2x80x9cFrequent Flyerxe2x80x9d programs. Typically, each gaming machine is connected to the online network through a serial port in the slot machine over which data may be sent in both directions. Other networking technologies may be used such as Ethernet or modem to connect each machine to the network. Where the digital file is to be sent can be determined by an operator""s employee who asks the player for this information, enters it, and triggers the distribution of the record as requested by the player. With less or no interaction of an employee of the operator with the player, the system may provide to the player a visual and/or aural query after the occurrence of the event. The player may be asked to enter the player""s name and/or email address or addresses to which the player wishes the digital publishable record or refined publishable record to be sent. With respect to players that are known by the operator, such as because they have an account with the operator, a player may simply need to provide the name or account number, and the email address may be obtained from the player""s account information. This information may also be read automatically from a player-tracking card, if present.
Other preferred embodiments include a central server that is capable of constructing a souvenir from a library of information such as data and images stored there. The server can then dispatch a record of the constructed image (as discussed above) to a printer, or in digital form such as for transmission to or for the player.
A principal object of the present invention is therefore to provide a system by which a souvenir of an event that has occurred as a result of playing a game on a gaming machine may be produced. Commensurate with the above, yet another principal object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus by which souvenirs from gaming machines can be provided to players that, for example, have won a jackpot. Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and method that provide a souvenir that includes a reproduction or recreation of the display of the gaming machine by which a player was first informed that, for example, the player has won something of potential significance.
An additional object is to provide a system and method that include configurable software that permits selection of the form or forms in which the souvenir is provided. An added object of the present invention permits an operator to select the manner in which the souvenir is distributed to the player.
These, together with other objects and advantages will be further understood in the details of the construction and operation of the invention as more fully hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like part throughout.